Thread: Fridge Advice

Hi,
Try a couple of computer fans to move the heat from the gas flame building up behind the fridge.
Cheers

three way fridges need a good amount of heat to make the cycle work, some assisted foced ventilation can help with getting the excess heat out and keeping the fridge cooler but theres only so much heat the absorbsion style refirgeration system can manage.

Compressor fridges do much better in warmer environments and also usuall include a method of forced ventilation for the smaller vehicle type fridges.

If its any help the average max temp in my house for the last 4 weeks has been about 38 degrees and I have a (kings only setup) dual zone fridge running on a 120AH lithium battery supported by only a single 200w panel laid out on the grass in the front yard. in the last week the same battery has also been running my 12v sandwich maker, a small inverter to run the washing machine once or twice a week, the kettle a couple of times a day and to charge my worklights and radio. So far I havent gotten the battery down below 50%. (Im testing a setup for arkie and loving the power savings)

The total cost of the setup would be on par with what you'll outlay for the isotherm unit alone.

Wild guessing it a little I think I could get you into a similar setup with
Glacio 90L Portable Fridge Freezer Bar Upright 12V/24V/240V Camping Caravan - Everything Caravan & Camping
that as your fridge freezer, maybe a 200Ah lithium battery, definately a 120AH battery and a DC/DC with a solar input and a blanket for about the same money as the isotherm.

If it all works out you can upgrade to more expensive batteries and charging unit later on in the game. (they have similar form factor and effectively plug and play)

Happy to assist if you need it.

Caravan Fridge.jpg

Thanks Dave. A few points
I assume that your duel zone fridge, being a Kings, is a chest type fridge. These work much better than a normal upright in hot weather.
We used our 2 Engels and one Brass Monkey to keep drinks and food on hot days. On cooler days(not many) we could put food back in caravan fridge.

The Glacio that you suggested is far too small. Our existing fridge is 180 litres
As you can see from the pic the existing fridge has a purpose built space
Any compressor fridge of similar size is too big for this cabinet

This is why I would prefer to keep the existing fridge and boost it with the Isotherm unit.
I have plenty of space immediately to the left of the fridge for this unit.

My reason for this thread is to see if anyone can tell me if it would work or not.
If it comes to the crunch and a compressor fridge does turn out to be the best option, I will reluctantly modify the enclosure.

And as I pointed out, a bit of research I have done suggests that a fridge freezer of this size can struggle in hot temps.

Originally Posted by austastar

Hi,
Try a couple of computer fans to move the heat from the gas flame building up behind the fridge.
Cheers

The fridge comes standard with a fan. Venting could not be better.

It has a very large vent at the bottom and at the top it is vented straight up through the roof.

All venting is Dometic vents and sized to manufactures specs.

The top of the pipe above the burner come out the side of the van and a flue is run up to about half a metre above the roof.

The important thing is moving air past the condenser on a 3 way. If it already has a fan on the condenser then there's probably not a lot you can do provided there is enough airflow to reject the heat.

Ours really struggled at any ambient above low 30's. I built a bracket behind the exhaust vent with 3 92mm computer fans which tick over at low speed when it's hot enough. That effectively doubles the air flow from the convection and the fridge is good to high 30's.

Hotter than that and the milk goes in the Engel while we find a pub to hide in

When it dies I'll replace it with a compressor fridge, but that 3 way went in when I started primary school and I'm 51 this year so I can't see it happening any time soon.

Originally Posted by d2dave

Caravan Fridge.jpg

Thanks Dave. A few points
I assume that your duel zone fridge, being a Kings, is a chest type fridge. These work much better than a normal upright in hot weather.
We used our 2 Engels and one Brass Monkey to keep drinks and food on hot days. On cooler days(not many) we could put food back in caravan fridge.

The Glacio that you suggested is far too small. Our existing fridge is 180 litres
As you can see from the pic the existing fridge has a purpose built space
Any compressor fridge of similar size is too big for this cabinet

This is why I would prefer to keep the existing fridge and boost it with the Isotherm unit.
I have plenty of space immediately to the left of the fridge for this unit.

My reason for this thread is to see if anyone can tell me if it would work or not.
If it comes to the crunch and a compressor fridge does turn out to be the best option, I will reluctantly modify the enclosure.

And as I pointed out, a bit of research I have done suggests that a fridge freezer of this size can struggle in hot temps.

with you now...

the concept you want to try out is sound in principle, achieving it might be a little more complicated than you might desire but it would work. I'd guess that the 12v side of it could wind up working so well you'd decomission the 3 way absorbsion side unless you have a recapture for the heat it gives off for winter use keeping the caravan a little warmer.

In both our vans I've thrown the dumetic( not a typo) away and replaced with a compressor fridge, a 90L Engal and 180L Bushman.
Both are FAR superior fridges in every way.

In the Bus I have a 20odd year old 230v kelvinator that will probably outlast me....

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

In the Bus I have a 20odd year old 230v kelvinator that will probably outlast me....

................and the Kelvinator would have had a warranty!

We got rid of the oh, so passe, 3 way in our 'van and replaced with a compressor 'fridge. Worth getting an Engle or equivalent, if purse strings stretch.